Thursday, November 7, 2024

 Thursday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

(Philippians 3:3-8; Luke 15:1-10)

In today’s first reading St. Paul oddly writes, “We are the circumcision”.  He means that those who put their faith in Christ have achieved the blessing promised to Abraham’s descendants whom God ordered circumcised. 

Circumcision was a distinguishing mark on Jews that reminded them of their need to be sexually moderate.  It also served as a promise of blessing with God’s protection.  Paul now tells the Philippians that they have received a far greater promise in God’s Son.  Christ will give them victory over death as the final and all-encompassing blessing.

The passage assures us of the same blessing that we have received in Jesus Christ.  We might draw pleasure and even some happiness from worldly goods and relationships.  But our true and final happiness comes through knowing, like Paul, “Jesus Christ (our) Lord.”

 

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Wednesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

(Philippians 2:12-18; Luke 14:25-33)

The hard words of today’s gospel must be understood in the context of first century Palestine.  Speaking in Aramaic, which is said not to have “more” or “less” comparisons, Jesus says that his fellow travelers must hate their relatives if they are going to follow him.  He is encouraging them to think deeply before committing themselves to him because their option may well be spurned by their families.

A famous Protestant theologian, Dietrich Bonhöffer, named the making of sacrifices to remain with Jesus “the cost of discipleship.”  Following the Lord may cost one’s physical life, but no believer should doubt its worth.  Keeping company with Jesus means having eternal life.

Jesus does not want us to hate anyone, least of all our family.  In fact, the more we follow Jesus, the better we will love our immediate family as well as the human family.  

 

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

 Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

(Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 14:15-24)

Many scholars are confounded by today’s first reading.  They think that belief in Jesus Christ as God did not take place until the second or third century.  Before this time, they say, Jesus was considered God’s representative, his prophet or anointed one, but not God himself.  Yet the reading clearly says that Jesus existed in the form of God before he became human.  Then he took a step downward, so to speak, to redeem humans from our sins. 

St. Paul probably wrote the Letter to the Philippians in the mid-fifties of the first century.  The passage today may come from a Christian hymn of perhaps a decade or two before the composition of the letter.  Belief in Christ’s eternal divinity, it can be said with confidence, goes back almost to the days of Jesus himself.

We need not worry that Christianity has no solid basis.  But the fact that it has does not result in automatic belief.  Many detractors hurl criticism of our faith.  And we might have our own reservations about giving ourselves completely to the Lord.  It is helpful to make an act of faith everyday and to explicitly put trust in the Lord.  We will find that He blesses us when we do so.

 

Monday, November 4, 2024

Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, bishop

(Philippians 2:1-4; Luke 14:12-14)

St. Charles Borromeo put some teeth in the conciliar decrees of Trent. He exemplified the reform proposals by adopting a simple lifestyle and carrying out visitations and councils in his archdiocese, that of Milan.  He also promoted clerical education by founding seminaries.

As St. Paul exhorts the Philippians in today’s first reading, Charles showed humility. He not only legislated relief to victims of natural disaster but also rolled up his sleeves to help.  These actions were particularly noticed during the famine of 1570 and the plague of 1576.

Coming from a wealthy family, Charles Borromeo had considerable resources at his disposition.  He used many of them to provide physical care for others.  Whether we have many or few resources, we can follow his examples of hands-on charity.

 

Sunday, November 3, 2024

THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, November 3, 2024

(Deuteronomy 6:2-6; Hebrews 7:23-28; Mark 12:28-34)

Today’s scriptures are brief, but deeply significant. We will focus on the first and the gospel and leave the second reading for another occasion.

The passage from the book of Deuteronomy literally calls for our attention. “Hear, O Israel,” Moses cries out to the Israelite people. He announces the famous “Shema,” the saying that every pious Jew repeats twice a day. Moses shouts it because it contains perhaps the most important message in history. He addresses us, Catholic Christians in the year 2024, as much as he did the Hebrews freed from the tyranny of Pharaoh more than three thousand years ago. He wants us to tune out for a moment our inner voice to heed the word of God.

The message has two parts.  First, Moses continues, the Lord is the only god there is. All idols and fetishes – whether myths like “Mother Earth” or the cravings of our hearts like luxuries – are imaginary. They have no substance, much less the power to save. They are like clouds during a drought, bringing hope whenever they appear, but soon dissipating.

Second, Moses urges us to love the Lord, our God, not a little like we love our pets, but more than our own lives. “…with all your heart … soul, (and) … strength” says the prophet. We are to live for the purpose of pleasing God. Because today, November 3, is the Feast of St. Martin de Porres, let’s use him as an example. Martin spent his nights doing penance and praying to the Lord. He spent his days doing works of charity for God’s children.

Now let’s look at the gospel. Jesus is now in Jerusalem.  He has just bested the Pharisees about paying tribute to Caesar and the Sadducees about the resurrection from the dead. Evidently his ideas have impressed one scribe so much that the scribe wants his judgment on a pressing question of his day: “Which is the first of all the commandments?” The answer is not as obvious as it appears. The famous Rabbi Hillel said shortly before Jesus’ time that the first commandment is: “What you hate for yourself, do not do to your neighbor.” Today some, considering its placement in the Bible, would say that the first commandment is: “Be fruitful and multiply.”

Jesus’ answer to the question shows greater wisdom. He gives two commandments known to every Jew in his time. They are similar in structure, but different in their objectives and their importance with the second being derived from the first. First, we are to love God above all else. Second, we are to love our neighbor, who is God’s child, as ourselves. If we keep both commandments in their proper order, we will never stray from the path to eternal life.

The scribe is pleased with Jesus’ response. He acknowledges that acting in this way “is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” However, he does not say that sacrifices lose all value. In fact, they have great value for the one who performs them and for the beneficiary named by the doer. We need to remember this when we are told that ethics are all that matters, that prayers and sacrifices, even the Mass, can be set aside. But if we set them aside, how will we be forgiven when we fail to show love to others? And what will we do when we find ourselves completely overwhelmed with difficulties?

The passage ends with Jesus congratulating the scribe on his insight. He tells him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” He is not far because he is staring in the face of the Kingdom. If he follows Jesus like Bartimaeus in last Sunday’s gospel, he will reach the eternal Kingdom. It is the same with us. If we follow Jesus by putting God before everything and treating others as we want to be treated, the Kingdom is ours forever.